‘We have a non-traditional approach to OOH’

Vikas Agarwal, General Manager, OnePlus India says that areas frequented by the brand’s target audience are quite consistent and so the spends will only increase if there are more such locations

What role does OOH play in OnePlus’ marketing initiatives?

OOH stands as one of our tactical branding pillars for OnePlus. We utilise this medium during our product launches and whenever we have a key message to communicate to our audience. We have a non-traditional approach to OOH and do not use it simply to create frequency and increase touch-points for the same message. OnePlus utilises OOH media in locations that are often frequented by our target audience for longer periods of time.

As more people spend more time out of home, do you see a greater reason to drive OOH advertising for deepening your brand’s consumer connect?

While it is true that people are now spending more time out of their homes, this does not warrant an increase in our OOH spends. OnePlus adopts a pretty focused approach towards OOH and only employs it in key areas visited by our target audience. Areas frequented by our target audience remain largely consistent, and our spends will only increase if the locations which fit our guidelines increase.

As OOH becomes multi-faceted with dynamic transit media and activations, and like, is there scope for more compelling brand storytelling in the outdoor?

With the integration of technologies, OOH is no longer a piece of real estate but a platform that provides brands the opportunity to create content that is both innovative and engaging, thus bringing the audience closer to newer experiences. OnePlus as a brand constantly evaluates newer ways to tell our stories across platforms and is waiting for the right opportunity to take this forward with OOH.

OnePlus has been a forerunner in using the outdoor medium in many creative and innovative ways. Share with us the detailed thought, insights and approach that lead to creative usage of outdoor?

We are truly humbled to be seen as a forerunner in the creative use of OOH media. Our thought process and approach to this is fairly simple and straightforward. We evaluate where our core audience reside, how much time they spend in those areas, what outdoor options are there for that location and how best we can employ them. We believe that true innovation lies in simplicity.

What parameters are taken into consideration while coining the creative and campaign ideas for OOH?

As mentioned earlier, we focus on where our target audience is when it comes to choosing a location. Our outdoor campaigns are a part of larger brand campaigns which are then adapted to OOH to maintain singularity of messaging across platforms.

Will expansion of DOOH give brands like yours greater reason to up the OOH spends?

DOOH gives brands the opportunity to narrate their story better and moving pictures are better in terms of recall. Given a chance, we would like to do that, provided the newer sites fit our guidelines.

Do you also see OOH as a strong medium to connect with consumers in non-metro cities?

OOH and TV are still the main forms of communication in non-metro cities and hence is a key point of consideration. OnePlus constantly looks out for new and innovative ways to communicate with our audience in different markets, and if for some cities OOH is best approach, then we surely look at it.

What were the highlights of your brand’s recent OOH campaigns?

Our most recent campaign was for the OnePlus 5T and we aimed to communicate the fact that one out of every two premium Android smartphones is of OnePlus brand. People are usually surprised when we make such statements and we expect that they go back and read up about us. OnePlus was always made for the informed consumer and whenever people see the same, they go from being "audience" to "consumers".

What changes do you anticipate in the OOH space?

OOH media is currently very fragmented, be it in terms of agencies, site owners or formats. This makes it that much more difficult for due diligence. Going forward, we expect more standardisation in formats (like New Delhi) and Digital OOH taking the leap from being one of the media choices to primary choice for OOH.